A Kamikaze Climate Suit

Democratic states suing the EPA could hurt their own emissions cause.

One of Hillary Clinton’s mistakes in the 2016 presidential race was her stance on climate change, which would have seen a continuation of Obama’s regulatory fiat. So have 2020 Democratic candidates learned from the past? Image: Getty/AFP Composite: Mark Kelly

Democratic states challenging the Trump Administration’s redo of the Obama CO2 emissions regulations should be careful what they sue for. Their lawsuit could backfire and undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate carbon emissions.

Twenty-two Democratic state Attorneys General and seven cities this week asked the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the Trump EPA’s CO2 emission rules for coal plants. The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to implement the “best system of emission reduction” for pollutants,...